Protector



F. FISCHER 2,857,195

PROTECTOR 3 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 21, 1958 Filed June 10, 1955 INVENTOR.FRITZ FISCHER A, @ggf ..IIIIS www FIG.

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Oct'. 21, '1958 F. FISCHER 2,857,195

` PROTECTOR 1 Filed Jun 10, 1955 l 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.4.

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Oct. 21, 1958 F. FISCHER 2,857,195

PROTECTOR Filed June 10, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet .3

FIG.9.

INVENTOR. FRlTZ FISCHER 247ML imm/S* 4' Myx United States lPatent Oiice@85u95 Patented Oct. 2l, 31h53 o mortieren Fritz Fischer, New York," N.Y., assignor to Heppeiistll Company, Pittsburgh, Pal., a corporation ofPennsyl VaniaV o i Appiieatiunliune 1'05,l i955', serial No. 514,471

4 Claims. `(cig 294-104) This' invention relates to' a protector whichmay be positioned betweeiian object and a device engaging such objectlto protect the'A object against` damage. More particularly, thisinvention pertains to a material protector capable of spacing such anobject from at least a part of such a device to inhibitv relativemovement or conL tact' between object and device' to a protective extentas in the' case', for example only, of a coil' of steel strip and atongs to manipulate the' same.

inthe handling of objects' like coils of steel strip, care is desirablet-o" protect not vonly the surface but also the' edges of the turns` ofcoiled strip to eliminate discards and/or anyA reworking thereof.Manipulators like tongs are devices'wh'ich must be ofs'uiiicientstrength to handle such coil'swhich' are extremely heavy. One mode ofengaging" aiidtransportig" vertical coils is currently performed in manymillsby so-called vertical coil tongs which may be of the kind shown inUnited States Patent No. 2,536,932. The mass and weight of such a'tong'sis also'y considerable so that acrane operator and iioorf man'have toexercise care and closely coordinate their efforts to'"avoid'da'rnageAto the co'il'as a tongs is brought in'topositio'n where itc'an-beoperated to engage o'r disL engage the coil.` `A common practice oftenused in picking up' a vertical coil is to have the tongs brought torest'o'n'the upper end of the coil which supports it directlyk incontact'with the edges of 'the co'il turns before the to'n'gsis" closed,particularly where'the" tongs is a fully' automatic latching andun'l'atchi'ng tongs.

An arrangement such a's'that shown in United States Patent'No. 2,675,261h'aslbeen proposed to try to counteract the"det`rimental effectOfbringin'g a'tongs to 'rest againsthe" turn 'edges of a coil.V However,such arrangements' fail to appreciate and to' take' care of damage tocoil turnedges which' may occur as a result of Contact during'transverse' movement of a tongs across such edges in the'course of'ftheadjustmentof such tongsrrela-y tive to the coil and/or in the course ofthe closing or opening'of the tongs.' In closing, such a tongs will gripa coil with'a force' severaltimes greater than the weight of the coilbeing handled.

inthe new protectorof'this invention'a separation` is effected between"Aobject and troublesome areas" of a handling' device. Thereby, direct`relative rubbing or sliding'contact betweensuch a 'handling device andan object or workpiece to be AengagedV or disengaged is reduced or'eliminated'.l At the Sametime, necessary transverse orother'relativermovement between that device and object is provided forwith theresult that damage such as that heretofore experiencedA uponturn edges of coils is avoided.' Moreover, crane and mill iioioroperators are freed Ifrom havingto exercise as rn'uhc'zire' as formerlyin the;` conduct Vof sch"w o'rk.

Other objects' and'jadvantages" of this" inventionv will be apparentfrom'th followingy description and from o in rwhich theiaccompanyingdrawings, which are illustrative only,

l Figure lilisa' Viewfin elevation showing one embodiment of thisinvention applied to a coil tongs which, as shown, is yin open positionon theftop of a vertical coil and is about to be closed to grip thatcoil;

' 'l Figure 2 is`a view similar to that shown in Figure l with 'the'jaws of said tongs'l in the course of closing;

Figure 3 is 'a View of the structure shown in Figures l and 2 with thetongs jaws fully closed and gripping such` vertical coil withoutdetrimental contact between suchtongs and coil; l

Figure 4 is a partial view in end elevationof the structure shown inFigures l to 3 showing the ends of the illustrated embodiment of my newprotector;

Figure 5 is a plan view of the newv protector shown in preceding figureswith tongs being omitted better to show my new protector; Y K

Figurev 6 is a' longitudinal section taken alongV line VI-Vl of Figure5;

Figure' 7 isa staggered cross-sectional View of the protector shown inVFigure 5 taken along'line VII- VII of Figurel 5;`

Figure 8 is a plan view of the slide from a` protector illustrated inthe preceding figures; Figure 9is a plan View o f the new protector asillustrated in Figure 3 with the` tongs structure omitted forpurposes ofclear depiction ofthe new device;

Figure 10` is a longitudinal section taken along line X-X of- Figure 9;and

Figure` 11 is'a view of a modification of my protector similar` to theView shown in Figures 6 an'd l0 with' the slide in an intermediateposition. I

Referrin'g'to the '.drawings, a tongsl 10 may be utilized with' oneembodiment of myv invention applied thereto as illustrated in Figures 1to 3 to engage and handle an object or workpiece such, for example, as avertical coil 11. Tongs'10` may comprise'a generally U`shaped channelbeam 12 having a length usually sufficient to span the diameter of thecentral opening or window i3 of Vthecoil 11 which it is to engage. Aninner jaw or shoe 14 is preferably forged so `as to be an integral partof beam 12 and to depend'belowy the plane of the lowest surface 15Vthereof. An outer jaw or shoe 16 positioned in opposed relation to innershoe 14 may be pivotally connected at 17 to a bent bar i8. In opening,the shoes 14 and 16 move apart relative to each other in a horizontaldirection to release an object such as coil 11 whichwill have beendeposited in a predetermined position prior to such opening.

Although as shown, tongs 10 is intended to handle a single verticalcoil, it is sometimes the practice to place two such coils side by sideso thatv each of the shoes of a tongs may enter a coil window and thenlby moving the shoes toward one another to grip the coils for lifting bypressing them against one another. A tongs for handling two coils issometimes referred to as a vertical double coil tongs and may utilizeanouter shoe with a convex cylindrical face instead with a concavecylindrical face like that on shoe i6 in a single coil tongs iii. Thevertical engagement face of the inner shoe 14 on tongs 10 has aconvex-cylindrical configuration.

The operation of tongs 10 will be understood by those skilled in the artto whom this invention is' disclosed. In brief, when the twointerlocking parts of a latch 24 release one another, the lifting ofclevis 25 by a crane hook or other elevating member will raise links 26and Z7 in turn" raising links 28 and 29 respectively. Link 28 isfulcrumed at 30 on a connector 3i while link 29 is fulcrumed at 32 onconnector 31. The lowermost end of link 28 is pivoted at 33 to beam 12while-the lowermost end of link 29 is pivoted at 34 to bent bar 18 withthe result that such raising of the links as described moves jaws 14 and16 toward one another while the Alowering of such links moves such jawsaway from each other. Successivelowerings in the illustrative tongsrespectively latch and unlatch (in alternation) .the interlocking partsof latch 24 when the links move toward beam 12 as for instance when beam12 presses its weight against a solid object such as the vertical coil11. When the parts of latch 24 are interlocked in an alternate loweringthe links will remain collapsed during, a succeeding lifting of clevisthereby lifting opened device 10 from its object and making it availablefor the handling of a succeeding coil or .other workpiece.

In order to handle or lift vertical coil 11, the shoes 14 and 16 arerelatively moved toward each other in a horizontal direction until theygrip side 19 of coil 11 between them with a force generally severaltimes as great as the weight of coil 11. To eiect such a closing of jaws14 and 16, the movement of beam 12 is in relative direction indicated byarrow 20 while the movement of bent bar 18 is in the relative directionindicated by arrow 21. Generally, there would be a transverse rubbing byunderside 15 of beam 12 against the uppermost coil edges in sides 19`and 22 of coil 11 underlying beam 12 were it not for -the provision onbeam 12 of my new protector 23. Conversely, relative transverse movementtakes place in a reverse direction when jaws 14 and 16 are opened. e

The new material protector 23 may be applied to an existing tongs, liketongs 10, or it may be built as an integral part of material handlingdevices suitable therefor which may be manufactured hereafter. Theillustrated embodiment of the new material protector 23 may comprise abase member in the form of a bed of a generally inverted T-shape with afinished surface 36 adapted to make contact with underside 15 of ahandling device like tongs 10. In a tongs, like tongs 10, the underside15 of beam 12 is often rough. Hence, before the application of aprotector 23 thereto at least that portion of underside 15 to be incontact with surface 36 should preferably also be finished machined forrigid direct seating between underside 15 and surface 36. Inthe'illustrated embodiment, four such protectors 23 are used -on beam 12and located at the four corners of underside 15. It is obvious thatother dispositions and arrangements of my new protector may be made inaccordance with whatever the particular handling device and nature ofthe service involved may be.

Bed 35 may also be provided with undercut shoulders 37 chamfered alongthe edges 38 to provide recesses for ends 39a of a support member in theform of a generally U-shaped slide 39. Drilled openings 40 for capscrews may be provided through bed 35 in registry with correspondinglydrilled and tapped openings 41 inthe underside 15 of beam 12. Thus, eachbed 35 may be secured to beam 12 by cap screws 42 having heads which litwithin counterbores 43 so that no part thereof projects below the bottomsurface 44 of bed 35. An inverted recess 45 extends the length of bed 35and has a block 46 therein adjacent an appropriate end of bed 35. A rodopening 47 is drilled through block 46. Block 46 may be attached inrecess'45 by welding and its lower edge 48 does not project belowsurface 44 of bed 35.

Each slide 39 has the undersides 49 o-f its edges 39a substantiallyoverlying the shoulders 37 in the various relative positions of bed 35and slide 39. The oor 50 of each slide 39 may be drilled and tapped at51 on each side of a retainer block 52. Block 52 may be welded to floor50 adjacent an end of slide 39 at an appropriate distance from block 46in all positions of slide 39. The size of block 52 is such that it willremain and slide 4 within the groove 45 of bed 35. Block 52 may bedrilled -f at 53 in alignment with opening 47 in the block 46 toaccommodate a spring bolt 54 adapted to pass through openings 53 and 47.

A pair of liners 55 may be provided for oor 50 of each slide 39 to eachside of retainer 52. Each liner 55 has a series of drilled andcountersunk holes 56 in registry with the drilled and tapped holes 51.Thereby, the liners 55 may be affixed to slide 39 as shown in Figures 7and 8 by machine screws which do not project either above liners 55 orbelow slide 39. Grooves 57 may be provided in the wear face of theliners 55 for a lubricant like grease, the upper side of the linersduring operation being in slidable engagement with the finishedunderside 44 of its bed 35 to each side of groove 45. The upper side ofthe liners 55 is correspondingly finished for sliding and bearingengagement against such surfaces 44 on each of the beds 35. Theunderside 58 of the slide 39 is chamfered across the lower corner of thefront and back edges thereof as shown at 59 to round olf such edges andobviate their catching against any part of the object against which theymay bear. A clearance bevel portion 60 may also be provided in slide 39.

In assembling a protector 23, a spring rod 54 of suitable length isutilized. A nut 63 may be permanently aixed to one end thereof while theother end may be threaded and drilled for the reception in due course ofa nut 61 and a cotter pin 62. In making an assembly of the illustratedembodiment, the drilled end of spring rod 54 may be inserted throughopening 53 in retainer 52. Then an appropriate spring 64 may be insertedover i the drilled end of rod 54 following which that drilled end may bepassed through opening 47 in block 46. Thereupon, nut 61 should be usedto engage the threaded and drilled end of rod 54 and a cotter 62inserted through the drilled opening to lock nut 61 in place, as shownin Figures 5 and 6, to complete the illustrated assembly.

The normal at rest biased position of each slide 39 for the illustratedembodiment used on a vertical coil tongs 10, is to the left relative toits bed 35, as shown in Figures 5 and 6. The biasing is caused by spring64 pressing retainer 52 and block 46 in a separating direction to theextent permitted by the nuts on rod 54 when the parts of the protectorare not undergoing relative movement. Because of the particulardimensions of the illustrated vertical coil tongs 10, the two protectors23 aixed to the underside 15 at the left-hand end of beam 12 aresomewhat shorter than the two such protectors 23 aixed to the undersideof beam 12 at the right-hand end thereof as viewed in Figures l to 3.

When tongs 10 are open, that is, when jaws 14 and 16 are apart, therelative position of the slides 39 to their respective beds 35 is asshown in Figures 1, 5 and 6. In that position, the tongs may be lowereduntil they come to rest on a vertical coil like coil 11, the descentbeing readily controllable by the man on the mill oor so that no damageis done to the uppermost coil turn edges when they come in contact withsurfaces 58 on slides 39 even though the protectors 23 may bear theentire weight of tongs 10 and transmit that weight to coil 11.

With an open tongs 10 resting on top of a coil 11 to be lifted as shownin lFigure. 1, the raising of links 28 and 29 will cause beam 12 and bar18 to move transversely in opposed relation as hereinabove describeduntil the coil is gripped, as shown, for example, in Figure 3. Such atransverse movement of beam 12 relative to the coil edges in sides 19and 22 is accomplished without damage to the coil turn edgesv because assuch transverse movement of beam 12 occurs, each bed 35 will slide tothe left with the movement of beam 12 while the respective slides 39will stay in place without material movement relative to those coilturnl edges while being held against such edges by virtue of weightsupported by such slides 39 in the course of such an operation.

As bean12 n'fovs to theleft asl shown'inthe sequence of Figures 1,.'2and; 3,-it` carries' with it the' beds 35 and eachv block 46 begins tomove to the 1left without correspldig iir'tjvefe't f tl rfleSSZ n theSlides 3 9. That rel'ativepapprascn' er a' black 4t; ro its respectiveretainer member 52'r'e'di1`ce's the dis'tac 'between the tw'o andcompresses the springs 64 correspondingly until tongs is closed with thematerial protectors 23 in the position shown in Figure 3 insofar as theillustrated embodiment is concerned. Spring vrod 54 may move axiallysomewhat as spring 64 is compressed as the outermost ends of the rod 54no longer are against both block 46 and retainer 52 respectively. Thus,it appears that the friction between surface 58 andthe coil turn edgesis so great when any part of tongs 10 is resting on the coil that atransverse movement of beam 12 relative to coil 11 will slide bearingsurface 44 axially along the top of liners 55 and at the same timecompress spring 64 without disturbing that static condition betweenslide 39 and coil 11.

After gripping and raising coil 11, the setting down thereof would causetongs 10 to open and move beam 12 to the right. Thereby, the beds 35will correspondingly move to the right and should tongs 10 be liftedaway from coil 11 before the full open stroke of jaws 14 and 16 isreached, spring 64 would snap the respective slides 39 back to thenormal biased position shown in Figures l and 6 to ready the protectors23 for a new operation of tongs 10 with the new protectors 23 thereon.

A, modification of my new protector is illustrated in Figure ll whereparts generally corresponding in structure and in function to theembodiment shown in the preceding igures are provided with the samereference numerals with the addition of Va prime factor thereto. Thesectioning of the modication shown in Figure 11 is similar to thesectioning shown in Figures 6 and l0 except that the slide 39 in Figure1l is in an intermediate position. In the modification of Figure ll, asecond block 46a is rigidly positioned in inverted recess 45'. A drilledhole 47a extends through block 46a for the passage therethrough ofspring rod 54. The spacing apart of blocks 46' and 46a is such that whenspring rod 54 is in assembled position, there is no movement thereof inoperation relative to bed 35 such as may occur in the earlier describedembodiment of my new protector when there is any shortening of the fulldistance between retainer 52 and block 46.l

Although the new protectors in the embodiments shown have fourassemblies which are substantially alike, it is evident that but asingle such assembly may-be utilized as a material protector withoutdeparting from this invention. Further, although the new protectorillustrated is provided with a slide which is intended to move in onedirection for the particular application illustrated in the drawings, itis obvious that such protectors may be constructed of opposite hand sothat the compression of the spring takes place when the slide moves inan opposite direction for manipulating devices requiring such anopposite movement. Moreover, the illustrated embodiment and modificationcompress the spring upon movement in one direction. Hence, a furthermodification may be con structed in which the retainer, corresponding tomember 52 and S2 may, for example, be located near the middle of a slideso that in an at rest position such member isl `at an intermediateposition along a spring rod such as spring rod 54 or 54. Thereby, such afurther modified structure might have a spring mounted on the spring rodto each side of the retainer member between such retainer member andblocks near the respective ends of the bed so the slide would beoperative in a two-way direction to compress one spring or the otherregardless of which direction it might be moved relative to its bed,

Still further, although as shown, the new protector is utilized inconjunction with a vertical coil tongs, it is evident that other objectsand other fields of use with other handling devices andni'iiplilators'jy whether" vertii or not; arealsogwithiirthbordsiof"thisinventinl 'Iles'e and othenclianges'iniyble'`ntafde"without departing either` from the spiritiofV rriyiriv'etionvor'the "sc'opeV ofthe appendediclairns.' i ,f u ,y

l. In a protector to be used with a manipulating device having portionswith opposed jaws to be moved to open and close relative to an object ina direction parallel to a longitudinal axis of said protector, incombination, a longitudinally extending bed, said bed having alongitudinally extending bearing surface, a block on the lower portionof said bed, a longitudinally extending slide having a surface slidablyengaging said bearing surface, a retainer affixed to the upper portionof said slide to move longitudinally relative to said block, alongitudinally extending spring positioned between said retainer andsaid block, and guiding means for said spring during relative movementbetween said retainer and said block, whereby when said device pressessaid protector against an object to be manipulated, movement of saidblock by said device in a direction opposing the force of said springwill move said bed relative to said slide without corresponding movementof said slide relative to said object.

2. In a protector to be used with a coil tongs having opposed jaws to bereciprocated relative to one -another to open and close relative to anobject in a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis of said protector,in combination, a longitudinally extending inverted T-shaped bed, saidbed having a longitudinally extending bearing surface, a longitudinallyextending recess along the lower portion of said bed, a block lixed tosaid bed in said recess, a longitudinally extending slide having asurface slidably engaging said bearing surface, said slide beinggenerally C-shaped in cross section with its ends extending around thehead of said T, a retainer aflixed to the upper portion of said slide tomove longitudinally relative to said block in said recess, alongitudinally extending spring. positioned between said retainer andsaid block, and a longitudinally extending rod engaging said spring toguide it during relative movement between said retainer and said block,whereby when said tongs press said protector against an object to bemanipulated, movement of said block by said tongs in a directionopposing the force of said spring will move said bed relative to saidslide without corresponding movement of said slide relative to saidobject.

3. In a protector for a material handling device having operableportions relatively movable in a longitudinal direction, in combination,a longitudinally extending base positioned on the underside of saiddevice, a member engaging said base for relative movement in alongitudinal direction, means for maintaining said base and said memberin engagement, a longitudinally extending bearing surface between saidbase and said member for bearing engagement during such relativemovement therebetween, and positioning means to maintain said membernormally in a position in readiness for such relative movement with saidbase between operations of said device, whereby when said device pressessaid protector against material to be handled, movement of said base bysaid device in a `direction opposing said positioning means will movesaid base relative to said member without corresponding movement of saidmember relative to said material.

4. In a device movable in a longitudinal direction to operably engage anobject to hold it, a contact protector comprising, in combination, alongitudinally extending base member on said device on a lower sidethereof, said base member having a lower side generally parallel to aside of said object, a longitudinally extending support member havingits lower side parallel to said side of such an object and its upperside movablyengaging said base member in a longitudinally extendingdirection, and means to maintain said support member in movable saidsupport memberwithout corresponding movement 5y 2,088,519

of said support member relative to said object.

`8 References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,675,251 vEgg@ Apr. 13,1954

